Candidates stump down the stretch

WASILLA — A handful of candidates for local seats faced down business leaders from Palmer and Wasilla Tuesday.

Candidates running for Mat-Su Borough School Board and Mat-Su Borough Assembly — most running unopposed — told a joint meeting of the Palmer Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce why they should be elected.

The event gave the portion of Valley residents who run local businesses the chance to assess how each candidate might impact the area.

The forum was just one of many planned in the Valley during the run-up to Oct. 7’s municipal elections.

School Board

As it goes in many local races this election season, two of three school board seats up for grabs are unopposed. Seat G incumbent Myrl Thompson, who was appointed to that seat this past April, and Palmer resident Brian Sullivan, running for Seat E, won’t have to face an opponent.

The race for Seat D, however, is a two-way battle between incumbent Pat Purcell and Palmer resident R. Ole Larson.

Purcell, who used to substitute teach in the district, said with a relatively young board in place now, part of her re-election quest is to maintain a level of experience, she said.

“I’d like to stay on the school board to keep the continuity there,” Purcell said.

Her opponent, Larson, said his management experience in the correctional system and time spent on the Matanuska Electric Association’s Board of Directors, gives him the tools to be effective on the board.

“I know how important it is to forecast budgets instead of just going year-to-year,” Larson said.

For Sullivan and Thompson, who have not had to worry about an opponent, their appearance at the forum was more a chance to introduce themselves and their ideas to the business community.

Sullivan, a company commander at Fort Richardson, said he and his family moved from the base to Palmer because of the Valley’s schools.

As a school board member, Sullivan said he will be a boon to school security because of his military training. Also, being a member of the bar, Sullivan will be the only attorney on the board.

“Don’t hold that against me,” he joked to a laughing audience.

For Thompson, re-election to his seat means he will fill out the rest of a term vacated by Talkeetna resident Sandra White earlier this year.

For Thompson, being a part of the board governing education in the Valley is one of the most noble activities in which he takes part.

“Education is the single most important thing we can do for our children and the future citizens of this state,” he said.

Each school board candidate was also asked a series of questions posed by the audience Tuesday.

One of those questions dealt with Alaska’s infamous high drop out rate.

Larson, who has often touted providing after-school activities as the base for keeping kids out of trouble, said the key to lowering the drop out rate is keeping students interested.

For Thompson, getting beyond the old-school standard of reading, writing and arithmetic and bringing more high-tech education into schools could help solve the problem.

Another idea offered, this one by Sullivan, is to provide as much assistance as possible to students in transition. Sullivan said often students are lost in transition when they move in from the Bush or simply switch schools. It’s all about grabbing that student and working to teach them, Sullivan said.

Purcell said the district is already working to develop professional learning communities aimed at giving students an outlet after-school that will help them in the future.

Borough Assembly

To say the race for Borough assembly will be a rather dull one this year is likely correct.

Both Cindy Bettine, the current District 5 assembly member, and Mark Ewing, who is running for term-limited Mary Kvalheim’s seat, are unopposed in their bid to sit on the Borough’s governing body.

Because neither candidate has an opponent, the two offered opinions Tuesday on issues facing the borough.

Bettine asked those in attendance to vote in favor of a road bond on this year’s ballot.

The $15 million bond package, if passed, will go toward seven road projects in the Borough.

As a condition of the bond, the borough will ask the state Legislature for a 70 percent match. If the state refuses to put up the money, no local dollars will go toward the projects.

Bettine said passing the bond is imperative to growing the Valley.

“People cannot get around this town on their lunch hour to do business,” she said.

For Ewing, the key to the Valley’s stable economic future lies in what he calls the abundance of tourists attractions in the area.

Ewing said the recent attention paid to Wasilla and the Mat-Su Valley by national news media following the Gov. Sarah Palin story will likely attract a mass of tourists wanting to see the place firsthand.

“I guarantee you they are coming,” Ewing said.

He went on to say if the Borough starts planning now it will be able to reap the rewards of a strong tourism base for years to come. Getting travelers interested in stopping in the Valley, as opposed to driving through it to get to Denali National Park, will sustain the area long after natural resources dry up, Ewing said.

“When oil dries up we have a resource that’s renewable, and that’s tourism,” he said.

The debates continue

Next week candidates for Wasilla mayor and city council will be in the hot seat. The Frontiersman will host a forum beginning at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 29 at the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex. The forum will feature all five mayoral candidates and those running for Wasilla’s city council.

The next day, Wasilla mayoral candidates will face the business community at the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce luncheon. The event begins at noon in the Glacier Canyon Grill inside the Grandview Inn.

Contact Michael Rovito at michael.rovito@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.